Fountain brush assemblies

ABSTRACT

A FOUNTAIN BRUSH ASSEMBLY WHEREIN LIQUID IS DELIVERED TO THE BRISTLES OF A BRUSH COMPONENT TO BE APPLIED TO ANY DESIRED SURFACES AND TO BE USED FOR DECORATIVE AND COSMETIC PURPOSES. A BRUSH COMPONENT INCLUDES BRISTLES SURROUNDED AT AN INNER END REGION BY A FERRULE WHICH MAY BE TAPERED. AN ELONGATED TUBULAR LIQUID GUIDE HAS A DISCHARGE END REGION PROVIDED WITH AN INNER SURFACE OF THE SAME GENERAL TAPER AS THE TAPERED SURFACE OF SAID FERRULE WITH THE LATTER LOCATED WITHIN THE TUBULAR LIQUID GUIDE. ALTHOUGH THE TAPERED SURFACES ARE GENERALLY OF THE SAME DEGREE OF TAPER, THEY HAVE A NON-MATCHING RELATIONSHIP ENABLING THEM TO DEFINE BETWEEN THEMSELVES A LONGITUDINAL PASSAGE THROUGH WHICH LIQUID CAN FLOW BEYOND THE FERRULE TO THE HAIR-BRISTLES OF THE BRUSH COMPONENT WHICH EXTEND BEYOND THE FERROLE. THE BRUSH VOMPONENT IS FREELY MOVABLE WITHIN THE TUBULAR LIQUID GUIDE BETWEEN AN OUTER END POSITION   WHERE THE TAPERED SURFACES ENGAGE EACH OTHER AND AS INNER END POSITION WHERE THE BRUSH COMPONENT IS SITUATED IN THE TUBULAR LIQUID GUIDE TO AN EXTENT GREATER THAN WHEN THE BRUSH COMPONENT IS IN ITS OUTER END POSITION. AN APERTURED ABUTMENT MEANS EXTENDS ACROSS THE INTERIOR OF THE TUBULAR LIQUID GUIDE AND ENGAGES THE BRUSH COMPONENT TO DETERMINE ITS INNER END POSITION THE FERRULE COACTS WITH AN APERTURE OF THE ABUTMENT MEANS TO FUNCTION AS A VALVE THEREWITH.

Feb.23, 1971 Filed Marh' 21, 1969 M. ANDREWS 3,565,540

FOUNTAIN BRUSH ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LVVI'IN'I'UIL MAURICE ANDREWSA TORNEYS Feb. 23,1911 MANDREWS 3,565,540

FOUNTAIN BRUSH ASSEMBLIES Filed Marh 21 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

FIG. 5 i, I I} .v! 66; I "I FIG] INVI'JN'IUR. MAURICE ANDREWS AT TORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,565,540 FOUNTAIN BRUSH ASSEMBLIES MauriceAndrews, 66-36 Yellowstone Blvd., Forest Hills, NY. 11375Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 731,046,

May 22, 1968. This application Mar. 21, 1969, Ser.

Int. Cl. A46b 11/02 US. Cl. 401-115 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA fountain brush assembly wherein liquid is delivered to the bristles ofa brush component to be applied to any desired surface and to be usedfor decorative and cosmetic purposes. A brush component includesbristles surrounded at an inner end region by a ferrule which may betapered. An elongated tubular liquid guide has a discharge end regionprovided with an inner surface of the same general taper as the taperedsurface of said ferrule with the latter located within the tubularliquid guide. Although the tapered surfaces are generally of the samedegree of taper, they have a non-matching relationship enabling them todefine between themselves a longitudinal passage through which liquidcan flow beyond the ferrule to the hair-bristles of the brush componentwhich extend beyond the ferrule. The brush component is freely movablewithin the tubular liquid guide between an outer end position where thetapered surfaces engage each other and an inner end position where thebrush component is situated in the tubular liquid guide to an extentgreater than when the brush component is in its outer end position. Anapertured abutment means extends across the interior of the tubularliquid guide and engages the brush component to determine its inner endposition. The ferrule coacts with an aperture of the abutment means tofunction as a valve therewith.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 731,046, filedMay 22, 1968 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to fountainbrushes.

In particular, the present invention relates to fountain brushes where acoloring medium in liquid form is delivered to a brush component to beapplied by the latter to a desired surface. For example, fountainbrushes of this type may be used for cosmetic purposes.

There are at the present time many known types of fountain brushes.These brushes however, suffer from several drawbacks. Perhaps the mostimportant of these drawbacks resides in the fact that it has not yetbeen possible to manufacture fountain brushes by mass production methodsat a cost low enough to make the fountain brushes economically practicalwhile at the same time maintaining for the fountain brushes a superiorquality which will enable them to perform in a highly satisfactorymanner. Thus, in addition to having costly components which do not coactin the best possible manner, the known structures do not operatesatisfactorily. The liquid coloring medium tends to dry and cake atlocations where the flow of the medium is prevented, and the resultoften is that the user of the fountain brush will shake the latter in anattempt to initiate the flow. Very often such shaking results inthrowing of droplets of liquid component from the fountain brush ontoarticles Which unavoidably become soiled. A further drawback encounteredwith the known structures resides in the fact that a supply of theliquid coloring medium cannot be conveniently and easily replenished.Very often when the initial supply of coloring medium is exhausted, itis necessary with the known structures to throw away the entire assemblyand replace it with a new assembly, so that the costs involved in theuse of the known fountain brush are undesirably high.

In addition, with the known structures it is not always possible toachieve a controlled flow of the liquid coloring medium which willenable the coloring medium to be precisely applied at a preselectedarea.

Also, with many known fountain brushes the liquid coloring mediumbecomes unavoidably deposited on the exterior of the assembly preciselyat the surface thereof which is manually engaged so that the fingers ofthe user of the assembly will inevitably become soiled with the coloringmedium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a fountain brush assembly which will avoidthe above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a fountainbrush assembly which is made of a relatively small number of efficientlyoperating, simply constructed components which can be very easily andinexpensively manufactured by mass production techniques.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide aconstruction of this type which will reliably prevent any caking of theliquid coloring medium so as to avoid plugging of the assembly in amanner preventing the desired flow of the coloring medium.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a fountainbrush assembly which is easily manipulated for starting and stopping theflow of the coloring medium whenever desired.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fountainbrush assembly which will assure a controlled flow of the coloringmedium enabling just enough liquid coloring medium to reach the hairbristles of the brush to provide for a precise application of thecoloring medium to any selected area.

i In addition, it is an object of the invention to provide a fountainbrush assembly which will reliably prevent soiling of the fingers of theoperator.

The fountain brush assembly of the invention has a brush componentcomposed of hair bristles which are surrounded at inner end regions by aferrule which has an exterior tapered surface. A tubular liquid guidehas a discharge end region which receives the ferrule and which isprovided at its interior with a tapered surface of the same generaltaper as the tapered surface of the ferrule. However, these taperedsurfaces have a nonmatching relationship enabling them to define betweenthemselves a longitudinal passage for the liquid coloring medium. Thebrush component is freely movable in the tubular liquid guide between anouter end position where the tapered surface of the ferrule engages theinner tapered surface of the tubular liquid guide and an inner endposition where the brush component extends into the tubular liquid guideto an extent greater than when the brush component is in its outer endposition. An apertured abutment means is carried by and extends acrossthe interior of the tubular liquid guide to engage the brush componentfor limiting the inward movement thereof and thus determining the innerend position of the brush component. An aperture of the abutment means,through which a restricted flow of liquid is provided, is covered andclosed by the ferrule when the brush component is in its inner endpostion, so that in this way a valve action is achieved according towhich the brush component itself initiates the flow when displaced toits outer end position and terminates the flow when displaced to itsinner end position. A liquidholding means coacts with the tubular liquidguide for supplying liquid thereto for fiow through the aperture of theabutment means to displace the brush component to its outer endposition, while the liquid-holding means is capable of drawing liquidback into the tubular liquid guide to the side of the abutment meansopposed to the brush component, thus admitting air into the tubularliquid guide and displacing the brush component back to its inner endposition where it closes the aperture of the abutment means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way ofexampling the accompanying drawings which form part of this applicationand in which:

FIG. 1 shows in elevation an embodiment of a fountain brush according tothe invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation at an enlarged scale ascompared to FIG. 1 showing details of the structure of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 in thedirection of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of another embodiment of astructure of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows the structure of FIG. 4 in a position for discharging aliquid coloring medium;

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 in thedirection of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing the upper part ofthe assembly of the invention provided with a means which will preventsoiling of the fingers; and

FIG. 8 shows the structure of FIG. 7 in the position which the partstake during removal of a closure cap.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 13, thefountain brush assembly 10 illustrated therein includes a lowerelongated tubular barrel 12 made of any suitable metal, plastic, or thelike, and being in general relatively rigid. The barrel 12 has a bottomclosed end and a top open end. The barrel 12 accommodates in itsinterior a flexible tubular liquid container 14 which has in itsinterior a supply of a suitable liquid coloring medium, and the flexiblecontainer 14 may be made of a resilient, elastomeric plastic such aspolyethylene or the like. The upper end of the container 14 which formsa liquid-holding means is frictionally received within the lower openend portion of an outer tubular component 16 which may be made of thesame material as the barrel 12 and which has a lower elongated endportion 18 which extends into and engages the inner surface of thebarrel 12 at its upper open end region. While portion 18 of component 16may be threaded into barrel 12, in the illustrated example the portion18 of tubular component 16 frictionally holds the liquid-holding means14 while the barrel 12 frictionally holds the tubular component 16 atits lower region 18 which extends with a snug friction fit into theinterior of the barrel 12. Just above its portion 18, the tubularcomponent 16 is provided with an outwardly directed annular collarportion 20 integral with the component 16, and this component 16 tapersupwardly from the collar region 20. This collar region 20 has adownwardly directed shoulder which engages the top end surface of thebarrel 12 to limit movement of component 16 into the barrel 12.

This component 16 forms an outer wall portion which surrounds and housesa tubular liquid guide 22 made also of any suitable plastic materialsuch as polyethylene or the like. The exterior surface of the liquidguide 22 frictionally engages the interior surface of the outer tubularcomponent 16 so that the tubular liquid guide 22 is maintained in thecomponent 16 in the position illustrated in FIG. 2.

The part of component 16 above the collar portion 20 thereof is coveredby a hollow tubular cap member 24 which may be made of the same materialas components 12 and 16 and which has a top closed end 26. Just abovethe collar portion 20 the component 16 has an exterior cylindricalsurface for frictionally engaging an inner cylindrical surface of thecap 24 so that the latter is frictionally retained on member 16 with asnug sliding fit. The cap 24 however extends through a substantialdistance upwardly beyond the component 16 to define with the latter ahollow space for a purpose described below.

The elongated tubular liquid guide 22 has an upper discharge end region28 provided with an inner tapered surface 30. A brush component 32extends into the tubular liquid guide 22 at its discharge end region 28.The brush component 32 includes elongated fine hair bristles 34 whichtaper to a point, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and the component 32includes a tapered ferrule 36 made of any suitable metal or plastic andsurrounding and engaging the bristles 34 at inner end regions thereof.The ferrule 36 has an exterior tapered surface of the same general taperas the interior tapered surface 30 of the discharge end region 28 of theliquid guide 22.

However, the tapered surfaces of the ferrule 36 and liquid guide 22 havea non-matching relationship in cross section, so that they definebetween themselves a longitudinal passage enabling liquid to flow alongthe exterior of the ferrule 36 to the bristles 34 where the latterproject beyond the ferrule 36. Thus, in the particular example shown inthe drawings, and as is particularly apparent from FIG. 3, the innertapered surface 30 of the tubular liquid guide 22 is of a square orrectangular cross section while the ferrule 36 is of a circular crosssection, so that in this way the tapered surfaces define betweenthemselves longitudinal passages 38 through which the liquid coloringmedium can flow.

The brush component 32 is freely movable within the tubular liquid guide22 between an outer end position where the exterior tapered surface ofthe ferrule 36 engages the inner tapered surface of the liquid guide 22and an inner end position where the brush component 32 is situated inthe liquid guide 22 to an extent greater than when the component 32 isin its outer end position. The component 32 is shown in dot-dash linesin its outer end position in FIG. 2 and in solid lines in its inner endposition.

An abutment means 40 is carried by and extends across the interior ofthe tubular liquid guide 22 for limiting the inward movement of thebrush component 32 so as to determine the inner end position thereof.This abutment means 40 includes a substantially cylindrical member 42made of any suitable plastic or the like and engaging a downwardlydirected shoulder in the interior of the liquid guide 22, as is apparentfrom FIG. 2. The abutment means 40 has a tight friction fit within theinterior of the liquid guide 22 so as to be maintained therein in theposition shown in FIG. 2. This abutment means 40 is apertured so thatliquid can flow therethrough. Thus, the transversely extending member 42is formed with a central aperture 44 forming a restricted path of liquidflow from the side of abutment means 40 opposed to the brush component32 to the side thereof where the brush component 32 is located. When thebrush component 32 is located at its inner end position engaging theabutment member 42, the ferrule 36 at its rear end engages the front endof member 42 extending across and beyond the aperture 44, thus closingthe aperture 44 so that liquid cannot flow therethrough, while when thebrush component 32 is in its outer end position shown in dot-dash linesin FIG. 2, the restricted passage formed by the aperture 44 isuncovered, so that liquid can now flow through the abutment means 40. Inthis way the ferrule 36 of component 32 acts as a valve member foropening and closing the path of flow depending upon whether the brushcomponent 32 respectively. It will be noted that at no time is there anycomponent which extends into the aperture 44 so that the entire interiorcross section of the latter is available for liquid flow.

The liquid supply or holding means 14 has an end wall 46 located next tothat end of liquid guide 22 which is distant from the discharge endregion 28 thereof, and a means coacts with the end wall 46 of theliquid-holding means 14 for providing for a flow of liquid through theend wall 46. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, this means whichcoacts with the end wall 46 takes the form of a piercing member 48having a tubular construction and made of suitable metal and having anaxial bore extending completely therethrough. This member 48 is tightlyseated within the axial bore of a suitable plastic plug 50 frictionallyreceived within the tubular liquid guide 22 and having at its lower endand outwardly extending flange 52 engaging the inner end of liquid guide22 and the adjoining end of the container 14. The bottom end of thepiercing member 48 is inclined as illustrated in FIG. 2 so that when thecontainer 14 is advanced toward the member 22, the bottom end ofpiercing member 48 will pierce through the wall 46 so as to providecommunication between the interior of the liquid-holding means 14 andthe interior of the liquid guide 22.

Between the plug 50 and the abutment means 40 there is within thetubular liquid guide 22 a free space 54 which forms a liquid reservoir,and a filter 56 may be located in this free space, this filter being anysuitably porous body such as a sponge element or the like enablingliquid to flow therethrough while capable of trapping impurities.

Any suitable manually operable means may be provided for compressing thecontainer 14 within the barrel 12. In the particular example illustratedin FIG. 2 the wall of the barrel 12 is formed with a slot in which alever 58 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, and one end of thelever 58 is pivotally linked with an outer manually engageable level 60while the other end is pivotally linked with an inner pressure member62, as is conventional with fountain pens. Thus, when the operatorswings the lower end of the lever 60 away from the barrel 12 the lever58 will act to advance the pressure member 62 into engagement with thecontainer 14 compressing the latter so as to expel liquid out of thelatter through the tubular piercing member 48 into the reservoir 54.

The structure described above will normally assume a position where thebrush component 32 is at its inner end position closing the aperture 44.When it is desired to use the fountain brush assembly of the invention,the

operator simply removes the cap 24 and compresses the container 14. Theresult is that the liquid-holding means 14 discharges liquid out throughthe reservoir 54 and the aperture 44 into engagement with the ferrule 36for advancing the component 32 to its outer end position,- and theliquid will fiow through the longitudinal passages 38 to reach the finehair bristles 34. Because of the restricted passage provided by theaperture 44 and because of the longitudinal passages 38 a controlledflow of liquid is achieved in this way to deliver to the exposedportions of the hair bristles 34 the coloring liquid in an amountsufiicient to be efficiently applied in a precise manner to any desiredarea, and this construction is particularly suitable for cosmeticpurposes according to which the coloring medium may be used as alipstick, as an eye liner, or as an eye shadow.

The liquid-holding means 14 serves not only to supply liquid to thebrush component 32 but also to retract liquid inwardly away from thedischarge end region 28 of the liquid guide 22 and to admit air intothis discharge end region 28, Thus, when the force of compression on thecontainer 14 is terminated, the container 14 will automatically expandback to its original configuration,

retracting liquid back into its interior and away from the discharge endregion of the liquid guide 22, so that air will enter this discharge endregion and at the same time the brush component 32 itself will beretracted back to its inner end position closing the aperture 44. Thesuction at the side of the abutment means 40 0pposed to the brushcomponent 32 will maintain the latter at its inner end position untilliquid is again pushed out of the liquid-holding means 14. It is to benoted that the parts are shown in FIG. 2 at a scale larger than theiractual size. The movement of the brush component 32 between its innerand outer end positions is very slight although it is visuallyperceptible if the operator Watches for the axial movement of the brushcomponent 32. Under normal conditions the extent of movement of thebrush component 32 is so slight that it is not even noticed by theoperator. Thus the operator will simply expel a given quantity of liquiduntil the bristles 34 apply the coloring medium in the desired manner,and then the force of compression is released while the operatorcontinues to use the fountain brush with the liquid which has beendelivered to the brush component 32. Now the entire interior is cut offat the aperture 44 from the outer atmosphere so that caking of liquidcannot take place and the interior portion of the discharge end region.28 of liquid guide 22 has air which surrounds the ferrule 36 so thatcaking also cannot take place at this location. If the brush is used tosuch an extent that more liquid coloring medium is required, theoperator need only compress the container 14 for a second time. It iscompletely unnecessary to shake the device so as to initiate the flow ofthe liquid coloring medium, although, if desired, there is no harm inthe operator inverting the device initially so that the brush component32 will be displaced to its outer end position by gravity as well as bythe force of the liquid supplied from the liquid-holding means 14.

It is to be noted that not only are the above-described components ofthe structure of the invention exceedingly simply and inexpensive tomanufacture, but in addition they are readily assembled. Thus, the brushcomponent 32 will initially be introduced into the liquid guide 22,after which the abutment means 40 is inserted, and then the piercingmember 48 together with the plug 50 can be inserted. Then this entireassembly is introduced into the outer wall-portion of the liquid guide22 which is formed by the tubular component 16. The tubular container 14is then inserted into the portion 18 of component 16, and the end wall46 is automatically pierced as it is advanced into engagement with theplug 50. Now the entire assembly can be very simply introduced into thebarrel 12, after which the cap 24 is placed on the assembly. In order toreplace a container 14, it is a simple matter to remove the component 16from the barrel 12, to remove the empty container 14, and to replace itwith a new container with a fresh supply of liquid in the mannerdescribed above. If desired, the tubular component 16 and the liquidguide 22 may be formed of an integral unitary one-piece body, as forexample, in the form of a single molding.

If it should happen that the liquid within the container 14 is of a typewhich tends to be rather viscous after a given time, a freely movablebody such as a suitable ball member or the like may be located withinthe container 14 to move about therein as the assembly is handled, sothat in this way the liquid can be agitated to maintain its free-flowingcharacteristics.

The embodiment of the invention which is shown in FIGS. 46 operates inthe same way as that described above. However, in this case the innertubular liquid container 64 has an end Wall 66 which is of a conicalconfiguration. This container is situated within an outer barrel 68 madeof a flexible material such as any suitable plastic which is resilientand made of an elastomeric material which may be the same as thematerial used for the container 64. The means which coacts with the endwall 66 for providing the flow of liquid therethrough in this case takesthe form of a pair of crossed slits 70 which intersect each other andextend through the end wall 66 in the manner shown in FIGS. 46. Thus,when the barrel 68 is compressed in the manner indicated by the arrows72 in FIG. 5, the end wall 66 will be deformed so as to open the slits70 and provide for the flow of liquid coloring medium which now willcoact with the other components in the manner described above. When thecompressive force is terminated, the parts resume their initialcondition due to their inherent elasticity, and the liquid coloringmedium is thus retracted back into the liquid-holding means 64 while theslits 70 automatically close. 1

It may sometimes happen that when the cap 24 is placed on and removedfrom the component 16, the inner surface thereof, particularly at thelower open-end region, is engaged by the hair bristles 34 so that someof the coloring medium becomes deposited on the inner lower surfaceregion of the cap 24. The result is that when the cap 24 is replaced itmay happen that some of the liquid color medium becomes transferred tothe exterior surface of the component 16 so that upon subsequent removalof the cap 24 the fingers of the operator will become soiled with thecoloring medium situated at the exterior surface of component 16.

In order to avoid this latter result a structure as shown in FIGS. 7 and8 may be provided. In this case the tubular component 16 is formedadjacent its upper end, as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8, with an annulargroove 17 and is covered by a cap member 80 which may be identical withthe cap member 24 except that it is formed with an internal rib 82situated just above the lower cylindrical region 84 of the cap member80. The member 80 is formed adjacent its lower end 84 with an exteriorgroove which forms the internal rib 82. Within this cap 80 there is aninsert means 86 in the form of a hollow tubular insert 88 of anyflexible plastic such as polyethylene and having a top closed endsituated adjacent the top inclined closed end of cap 80 when the latteris in its covering position shown in FIG. 7. This flexible tubularplastic insert 88 is formed in the region of its lower end with adownwardly directed shoulder 90 which i to be engaged by the rib 82 whenthe cap 80 is removed. Thus, as is shown in FIG. 8, during removal ofthe cap 80 the rib 82 thereof will engage the shoulder 90 so as toremove the insert means 86 together with the cap 80. When the parts arereplaced to the position shown in FIG. 7, the insert will engage with aninterior rib 83 which is formed therein the groove 17 of the component16. Thus, during return of the parts to the position shown in FIG. 7 therib 83 will snap into the groove 17 while the cap 80 continues to moveto its position shown in FIG. 7.

With this construction when the cap 80 is replaced through the reverseof these operations, the brush component 32 will initially be receivedwithin the insert means 86 so that if the cap 80 is not in a preciselyaxial position the brush component will engage the inner surface of theinsert 86 rather than the inner surface of the cap 80 and any coloringmedium will be deposited on the inner surface of the insert means 86.When the cap 80 is then moved down to its covering position from theposition shown in FIG. 8, there can be no transfer of colored mediumfrom the inner surface of cap 80 of the exterior surface of component16, and in this way soiling of the fingers of the operator i reliablyprevented.

Also, it is to be noted that with this construction the insert providesan air-tight seal in which the brush is protected.

Moreover, it is to be noted that instead of a tapered ferrule andtapered guide surface 30 of non-matching cros section, it is possible toaccommodate a cylindrical ferrule in a guide passage of non-matchingcross section which is constant throughout the length of the guidepassage. With such a construction, for example, short prongs at thedischarge end 28 of the guide can project 0 over the end of the ferrulefrom which the bristles 34 extend with these prongs beingcircumferentially spaced about the axis of the guide to engage theferrule and limit its outward movement in the same way that the matchingtapered surfaces coact for this purpose, so that with such constructionit is also possible to achieve the limited axial movement of the brushcomponent. However, the structure described above and disclosed in thedrawings is preferred because of its simplicity and efirciency inoperation as well as the easy assembly of the components. Thus, whetherthe tapered surfaces of the structure disclosed in the drawing are usedor whether another construction with a non-tapered ferrule is used,there will in any event be a limiting means limiting the movement of thebrush component between the end positions shown in solid and dot-dashlines in FIG. 2.

It is thus apparent from the above description that an exceedinglysimple and inexpensive structure is provided to operate very reliably toachieve the desired results. Although the structure is inexpensive tomanufacture and assemble, nevertheless there is no sacrifice in thequality of the operation of the parts. It i to be noted that not theleast of the advantages achieved by the structure of the inventionresides in the fact that it is capable of operating efficientlyirrespective of the exterior ambient pressure. Thus, with some knownfountain brushes the liquid coloring medium automatically leak therefromat relatively high altitudes so that during an airplane flight or atcertain cities which are located at a considerable distance above sealevel it sometimes happens that the liquid coloring medium leaks fromthe known structure. With the structure of the invention, such leakageis reliably prevented irrespective of the atmospheric pressure, and atthe same time the structure is easily manipulated at any altitude toprovide the required operation of the assembly.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fountain brush assembly, a brush component including a pluralityof hair bristles and a ferrule surrounding said bristles at an inner endthereof, an elongated tubular liquid guide having a discharge end regionand having an inner guide space in which said brush component isaccommodated with the cross section of said inner space of said tubularguide being greater than the cross section of said ferrule so thatliquid can flow between said ferrule and guide, said brush componentbeing freely movable with respect to said guide, and limiting meanscoacting with said guide and brush component to limit the latter tomovement between an outer end position and an inner end position wheresaid brush component extends into said liquid guide to an extent greaterthan when in said outer end position thereof, and aperture abutmentmeans carried by and extending across the interior of said liquid guidefor engaging said ferrule to determine the inner end position of saidbrush component, the latter being spaced outwardly beyond said abutmentmeans when in said outer end position thereof, said abutment meansincluding an abutment member extending across the interior of saidliquid guide and formed with at least one aperture, said ferrule havinga rear end engaging said abutment member and extending across and beyondsaid aperture, without extending into the latter, when said brushcomponent is at said inner end position thereof, so that said brushcomponent coacts with said aperture to act as a valve for opening a pathof liquid flow when said brush component is in said outer end positionthereof, and for closing the path of flow when said brush component isin said inner end position thereof, said aperture having its inner spaceat all times entirely free and available for flow of liquid.

2. In a fountain brush assembly, a brush component including a pluralityof hair bristles and a ferrule surrounding said bristles at an inner endregion thereof, said ferrule having an exterior tapered surface, anelongated tubular liquid guide having a discharge end region provided initS interior with a tapered surface generally of the same taper as thetapered surface of said ferrule but having in cross section anon-matching relationship with respect to the tapered surface of saidferrule so that when the latter tapered surface engages the innertapered surface of said liquid guide a passage will be defined betweensaid tapered surfaces for directing liquid along the exterior of saidferrule to the bristle portions extending outwardly beyond said ferrule,said brush component being freely movable with respect to said liquidguide between an outer end position where said tapered surfaces engageeach other and an inner end position where said brush component extendsinto said liquid guide to an extent greater than when in said outer endposition thereof, and apertured abutment means carried by and exendingacross the interior of said liquid guide for engaging said ferrule todetermine the inner end position of said brush component, the latterbeing spaced outwardly beyond said abutment means when in said outer endposition thereof, said abutment means in cluding an abutment memberextending across the interior of said liquid guide and formed with atleast one aperture, said ferrule having a rear end engaging saidabutment member and extending across and beyond said aperture, withoutextending into said aperture, for closing said aperture when said brushcomponent is in said inner end position thereof, said aperture at alltimes having its entire interior cross section available for liquidflow, and said brush component thus coacting with said aperture to actas a valve for opening a path of liquid flow when said brush componentsis in said outer end position and for closing the path of flow when saidbrush component is in said inner end position thereof.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said aperture is a centralaperture defining a restricted path of liquid flow from the side of saidabutment member opposed to said brush component to the side thereofwhere said brush component is located, and liquid-holding meanscommunicating with the interior of said liquid guide at the side of saidabutment means opposite from said brush component for supplying liquidto flow along the interior of said liquid guide through said aperturefor displacing said ferrule away from said abutment means whileadvancing said brush component to said outer end position thereof andfor retracting liquid back from said side of said abutment means wheresaid brush component is located through said aperture to the side ofsaid abutment means opposite from said brush component while drawing airinto said liquid guide at said side of said abutment means where saidbrush component is located for retracting said brush component back tosaid inner end position where said ferrule closes said aperture.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said liquid guide has at the sideof said abutment means opposed from said brush component between saidabutment means and liquid-holding means an interior space, and filtermeans situated in said space adjacent said abutment means for filteringliquid which flows therethrough to said apertured abutment means.

5. The combination of claim 3 wherein said liquidholding means includesan elongated flexible tubular container extending longitudinally beyondan end of said tubular liquid guide distant from said brush componentand having next to the latter end of said liquid guide an end wall andmeans coating therewith for directing liquid toward said brush componentwhen said flexible tubular liquid-container is compressed and forretracting liquid back into said liquid-holding means when said tubularliquid-container expands back to its original configuration.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said tubular liquid guide hasan outer wall portion provided with an exterior surface to be engagedmanually during use of the fountain brush, a closure cap engaging saidexterior surface for covering said brush component and liquid guide whenthe fountain brush is not used, and an insert means in said cap forsurrounding the brush component when said cap is in a covering positioncovering said liquid guide and brush component and preventing any liquidfrom being transferred from said brush component to an inner surface ofsaid cap and then from the latter inner surface to said exterior surfaceof said outer wall portion of said liquid guide, said insert means beingin the form of a flexible tubular insert shorter than said cap andaxially shiftable therein, said insert receiving said brush componentwhen said cap is placed in its covering position, and said insert andcap having contacting shoulders which engage each other for retractingsaid insert together with said cap when the latter is removed from saidliquid guide and initially is axially displaced with respect to saidinsert until said shoulders engage each other, said insert frictionallyengaging said outer wall portion of said tubular liquid guide whenreceiving said brush component and being held in engagement with saidouter wall portion only by frictional engagement therewith until saidshoulders engage each other during removal of said cap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,075,631 10/1913 DOds 401-2461,696,783 12/ 1928 Wakabayashi 40 l202 2,219,604 10/1940 Trotter 222-2072,932,046 4/ 1960 Skolnikolf 4011 15 3,159,863 12/1964 La Mura 401-3,234,918 2/1966 Gigli 401-134 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

